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Handspring Puppet Co.

Handspring Puppet Company was founded in 1981 in Cape Town, South Africa and has grown under the leadership of Artistic Director Adrian Kohler and Executive Producer Basil Jones for 30 years. The company is widely recognised as South Africa’s pre-eminent puppet theatre company with work spanning three decades of creating theatre for adults and children.

Handspring’s work has established its signature of artistic excellence through the use of finely crafted puppets within a live theatrical context. The marriage of the disciplines of Fine Art and Theatre is at the heart of the discipline of puppetry in general and Handspring’s work in particular. Whether the content is drawn from external events or interior landscapes, what characterises Handspring’s work is an honest emotional investment in the subject and a commitment to giving voice to our humanity.

In 1985, Handspring produced David Lytton’s Episodes of an Easter Rising – the company’s first play for adults. The success of the production led to collaborations with a string of talented directors: Esther van Ryswyk, Mark Fleishman, Malcolm Purkey, Barney Simon and more regularly with William Kentridge on several multi-media productions. Handspring has also created successful productions with artists from other parts of the African continent including Sogolon Puppet Troup from Mali and Koffi Koko from Benin.

Recently, the run-away hit play War Horse, produced by The Royal National Theatre in London, has established Handspring as one of the most important puppet companies in the world. This success has afforded the company the opportunity to further develop the art form they are so passionate about.